Your child is overly attached to you and you feel like this is no longer age appropriate. He or she is unwilling to sleep over at friends’ houses, needs you to lay down until she falls asleep, and you hardly ever go out with your spouse or friends because your child is afraid to be left at home with a babysitter. She sometimes voices fears that something bad might happen to you or to her while you are away. When you are together, especially in novel situations, she is very clingy and seems overly attached to you. Whenever there is a possibility of separation, your child complains of headaches or stomach aches.
These may all be symptoms of separation anxiety disorder. Separation anxiety itself is totally natural, as in fact all anxiety is rooted in adaptive functions such as alerting us to threats and keeping ourselves safe. Separation anxiety is also considered a normal part of child development. But when it continues past the point where it is typical and is interfering with your child’s ability to function in social situations might be a good time to reach out to a mental health professional to see if it is something we can help with. There are a variety of techniques aimed at helping your child (and you!) feel safer and self – assured in their ability to tolerate being away from you. Feel free to reach out any time to see if one of our child therapists is a good fit.